J.R.P^mix^R 


m 


n 


^iOi 


/f 


^m%. 


r^i 


;^ 


4:11%^ 


f 


(>/ 


.(t>(() 


UM 


ri 


V- 


r 


m      'I 


J  I. 


STATg  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

ItOS  ATlGElkES,  cnii. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/christmasmakingOOmilliala 


CHRISTMAS   MAKING 


CHRISTMAS  . 
MAKING 

By 
J.R.MILLER.D.D. 


AUTI-iO^l  O- 
•yVHtN   THE  SONG   BEGINS" 

"THE  INNER,  LIFL 

.,'vBHhhU 

c^C.  ETC 

'  'WS^K^ 

/^7  43      ' 

WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 

HAKOLD  COPPIING 

H  fITZNER.DAVE./ 
NEW  YOPJS 

THOMAS /•CROWELL^d- 


Copyright,  1906,  1907, 
By  THOMAS   Y.    CROWELL   &   CO. 


^   6.  /    Q_ 


TO   THOSE   EVERYWHERE  WHO   LOVE  CHRISTMAS, 

AND  ARK  WILLINO,   TO    LET    THE    LOVE    OF  CHRIST 

HAVE    ITS    WAY    IN    THEM  ;     TO    THOSE    WHO    ARE 

READY    ALSO     TO     FORGET     THEMSELVES    AND    TO 

MAKE    HAPPINESS    FOR    OTHERS  ;    TO    THOSE    WHO 

WANT    TO    DO    SOMETHING    TO   MAKE    THE  WORLD 

BRIGHTER  AND  SWEETER,  AND  A    BETTER    PLACE 

TO    LIVE    IN,  THESE    PAGES    ARE    CHEERFULLY 

DEDICATED. 

J.    R.    M. 

Philadelphia,  U.  S.  A. 


Everywhere,  everywhere,  Christmas  to-night  — 
Christmas  in  lands  of  the  fir  tree  and  pine, 
Christinas  in  lands  of  palm  trees  and  vine, 
Christmas  where  snow-peaks  stand  solemn  and  white, 
Christmas  where  cornfields  lie  sunny  and  bright  — 
Everywhere,  everyvfkCTfe,  Cijristmas  to-night. 

Christmas  where  children  are  hopeful  and  gay, 
Christmas  where  old  men  are  patient  and  gray, 
Christmas  where  peace  like  a  dove  in  its  flight, 
Broods  o'er  brave  men  in  the  thick  of  the  fight — 
Everywhere,  everywhere,  Christmas  to-night. 

For  the  Christ-child  who  comes  is  the  Master  of  all. 
No  palace  too  great,  no  cottage  too  small ; 
The  angels  who  welcome  Him  sing  from  the  height, 
"In  the  city  of  David  a  King  in  his  might"  — 
Everywhere,  everywhere,  Christmas  to-night. 

Then  let  every  heart  keep  its  Christmas  within  — 
Christ's  pity  for  sorrow,  Christ's  hatred  of  sin, 
Christ's  care  for  the  weakest,  Christ's  courage  for  right ; 
Christ's  dread  of  the  darkness,  Christ's  love  of  the  light  - 
Everywhere,  everywhere,  Christmas  to-night. 

—  Phillips  Brooks. 


/  ^  7  4  3 
There  were  two  parts  in  the  song  the  angels  sang 

the  night  Jesus  was  born.     The  first  part  was  an 

outburst  of  praise  to  God.     "  Glory  to  God  in  the 

highest."     God  should   always   be  put  first.     He 

should  be  first  in  our  hearts,  first  in  our  love,  first 

in  our  worship,  first  in  our  trust.     It  was   fitting 

that  the  first  note  of  the  angels'  song  should  be  to 

Gocl.     Tlie  great  blessing  of  that  night  was  God's 

unspeakable  gift  to  men,  and  to  God  the  highest 

honor  should  be  raised.     "  Glory  to  God."     Before 

we  begin  our  rejoicing  at  the  Christmas  time  we 

should  bow  reverently  before  God  and  praise  him. 

The  second  part  of  the'  angels'  song  referred  to 
the  meaning  of  Christmas  to  this  world,  to  the 
blessings  it  would  bring  to  the  earth,  to  the  change 
and  transformation  it  would  work.  "On  earth 
peace,  good-will  toward  men." 

We  always  have  a  part  in  making  our  own  bless- 
ings. A  friend  wishes  us  a  happy  birthday.  The 
5 


6  CHRIS  TMA  S-MA  KING. 

wish  is  sincere  and  there  is  a  great  heart  of  love 
back  of  it.  But  nothing  will  come  of  it  unless  we 
take  it  and  make  it  real  in  our  own  life.  God  has 
most  loving  thoughts  for  us.  He  is  always  plan- 
ning good  for  us.  Yet  even  God  can  put  his  good 
things  into  our  hearts  and  lives  only  through  our 
personal  acceptance  and  appropriation  of  them  by 
faith,  and  our  assimilation  of  them  in  our  conduct 
and  character  by  obedience. 

Christmas  as  a  day  in  the  calendar  comes  in  its 
season,  whatever  our  response  may  be.  God  sends 
it,  like  his  sunshine  and  his  rain,  on  the  evil  and 
the  good,  on  the  just  and  the  unjust.  But  Christ- 
mas in  its  divine  meaning  will  become  real  to  us 
only  as  it  reenacts  itself  in  our  own  experience. 
An  old  seventeenth-century  poet,  Angelas  Silesius, 
writes :  — 

"  Though  Christ  a  thousand  times 
In  Bethlehem  be  born, 
If  he's  not  born  in  thee, 
Thy  soul  is  still  forlorn. 

"  The  cross  on  Golgotha 
Will  never  save  thy  soul, 
The  cross  in  thine  own  heart, 
Alone  can  make  thee  whole." 

Christmas  is  the  gladdest  of   all   the   Christian 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  7 

festivals.  It  brings  a  great  joy  to  all  the  earth. 
It  is  for  all  men.  There  is  scarcely  a  home  so 
lowly,  in  such  neglect  and  poverty,  but  the  Christ- 
mas spirit  touches  it  with  some  little  brightness, 
and  the  Christmas  love  carries  into  it  a  little 
breath  of  warmth,  a  thought  of  gentleness  and  kind- 
ness. There  is  scarcely  a  life  so  desolate,  so  cut  off 
from  companionship,  so  without  the  blessing  of 
human  love,  but  Christmas  finds  it  with  some 
tenderness,  some  sense  of  kinship  and  fellowship, 
some  word  of  sympathy  and  cheer,  some  token  of 
thought,  something  to  brighten  the  dreariness  and 
soften  the  hardness.  The  day  makes  nearly  every 
little  child  in  the  land  happier.  It  is  observed  in 
every  home.  Think  of  the  millions  of  dollars  that 
are  spent  in  preparation,  in  buying  gifts,  from  the 
simplest  toys  among  the  poor,  to  the  most  costly 
presents  among  the  rich.  There  is  no  need  to  plead 
for  the  observance  of  Christmas.  But  there  would 
seem  to  be  need  for  serious  thought  about  the  real 
meaning  of  the  day  and  the  way  to  make  it  what 
we  may  make  it,  so  as  to  get  the  most  we  can 
from  it. 

How  did  the  world  come  to  have  a  Christmas  ? 
God  gave  it  to  us.  It  was  his  gift.  The  story  is 
told  in  the  New   Testament.     There  is  one  great 


8  CIIRISTMAS-MAKING. 

verse  which  tells  how  it  came  :  "  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life."  Christmas  thus  began  in 
the  heart  of  God.  The  world  did  not  ask  for  it  — 
it  was  God's  own  thought.  We  love  because  he 
first  loved  us.  All  the  love  that  warms  and  bright- 
ens this  old  earth  was  kindled  from  the  one  heavenly- 
lamp  that  was  lighted  the  first  Christmas  night. 
The  Child  that  was  born  that  first  Christmas  was  the 
Son  of  God.  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  Son. 

Think  of  the  beginning  —  how  small  it  was.  It 
was  only  a  baby,  a  baby  among  the  poor.  Think 
where  the  baby  was  born,  —  in  a  stable,  with  the 
cattle  all  about.  Think  where  the  baby  slept  its 
first  sleep,  —  in  a  little  box,  out  of  which  the  cattle 
ate  their  fodder.  All  the  circumstances  were  lowly 
and  homely  on  the  earth  side. 

The  first  Christmas  did  not  mean  much  in  the 
world.  Its  influence  did  not  reach  out  far.  A 
little  company  of  lowly  shepherds,  keeping  their 
watch  in  the  fields,  were  the  only  persons  outside, 
so  far  as  we  are  told,  who  heard  of  the  wonderful 
event,  or  came  to  look  at  the  new-born  Child.  The 
first    Christmas   touched   the   shepherds   with    its 


CHRISTMA  S-MA  KING.  9 

wonder  and  with  its  holy  sentiment.  But  with  this 
exception  the  great  world  slept  on  that  night  as  if 
nothing  was  happening.  The  world  does  not  know 
its  greatest  hours  nor  mark  its  most  stupendous 
events. 

Within  the  lowly  cattle-shed,  where  the  Baby 
lay,  there  was  nothing  which  at  that  time  seemed 
unusual.  There  was  no  divine  splendor,  such  as 
we  would  expect  to  see  in  the  face  of  one  who  was 
the  Son  of  God.  The  only  light  was  the  shining 
of  love  in  the  peasant  mother's  face.  When  the 
shepherds  came  in,  all  that  they  saw  was  a  new- 
born baby,  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in 
a  manger,  and  a  quiet  couple,  Mary  and  Joseph, 
bending  over  it  in  tender  love.  Yet  that  was  the 
beginning.     It  was  a  real  Christmas. 

There  is  a  picture  in  the  Dresden  gallery,  the 
Madonna  di  San  Sisto,  which  represents  the  Child 
in  the  arms  of  the  mother,  surrounded  by  clouds. 
A  closer  view,  however,  shows  that  the  clouds  are 
myriads  of  angel  faces,  all  turned  toward  the  Holy 
Child.  The  picture  is  true.  There  must  have  been 
hosts  of  angels  round  the  manger,  every  one  turn- 
ing his  face  with  adoring  wonder  toward  the 
infant  Saviour.  It  was  a  bit  of  heaven  let  down 
to  earth. 


10  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

Think  what  the  problem  of  Christmas  was.  The 
mission  of  the  Christ-Child  was  to  change  the  sin 
and  sorrow  of  earth  into  the  holiness  and  the  joy  of 
heaven.  Earth  was  very  unlike  heaven  that  night. 
It  was  a  place  of  selfishness,  of  cruelty,  of  strife,  of 
sin,  of  wrong,  of  oppression,  of  sorrow.  Millions 
of  men  were  slaves.  There  was  depravity  that 
reeked  to  heaven.  Governments  were  tyrannous. 
Home  meant  but  little.  Here  and  there  a  few 
praying  souls  thought  of  God,  and  a  few  men  and 
women  lived  pure  and  gentle  lives.  But  the  world 
was  full  of  sin.  Love  —  of  course  there  was  natural 
love.  Mothers  loved  their  children,  friend  loved 
friend.  But  the  great  multitudes  knew  nothing  of 
love,  as  we  now  understand  the  word.  Love, 
Christian  love,  was  born  that  first  Christmas  night. 
Love  of  God,  God's  own  love,  a  spark  of  God's  life, 
came  down  from  heaven  to  earth  when  Jesus  was 
born.     Christina  Rossetti  puts  it  thus :  — 

"  Love  came  down  at  Christmas, 
Love  all  lovely,  love  divine  ; 
Love  was  born  at  Christmas, 
Star  and  angels  gave  the  sign. 

"  Love  shall  be  our  token, 

Love  be  yours  and  love  be  mine, 
Love  to  God  and  all  men. 
Love  for  gift  and  plea  and  sign." 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  11 

What  was  the  problem  ?  It  was  for  this  tiny 
spark  of  love  to  work  its  way  out  among  men, 
among  the  nations,  until  all  the  life  of  the  earth 
should  be  touched  by  it,  changed,  purified, 
sweetened,  softened.  This  is  part  of  what  Jesus 
meant  when  he  spoke  of  a  woman  putting  a  little 
morsel  of  leaven  in  a  great  mass  of  dough,  that  it 
might  work  its  way  through  the  whole  lump.  We 
have  the  problem  stated  in  the  words  of  the  angels' 
song,  "On  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  men." 
That  is  what  the  coming  of  Christ  to  earth  in  hu- 
man flesh  was  to  do  —  to  make  peace  and  to  put 
into  all  men's  hearts  good-will. 

"  Peace."  This  is  a  great  word.  As  we  read  the 
New  Testament  we  find  it  used,  for  one  thing,  to 
denote  the  reconciliation  of  men  to  God.  "  Being 
justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through 
our  Lord  Jesvis  Christ."  Peace  with  God  —  enmity 
given  up,  will  submitted,  sins  abandoned,  and  obe- 
dience to  God  made  the  law  of  life.  As  we  read  on, 
we  find  that  peace  means  also  the  peace  of  God  in 
the  heart,  Christ's  peace  ruling  in  the  life.  To 
have  this  peace  is  to  be  well  advanced  in  the  school 
of  Christ.  Jesus  said  that  in  wearing  his  yoke 
and  learning  of  him  we  shall  find  rest  in  our  souls. 

Peace  means  also  peace  with  each  other,  peace 


12  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

among  men.  Remembering  the  late  terrible  Eastern 
war,  it  would  seem  that  universal  peace  is  still  far 
away,  an  impracticable  and  impossible  dream.  Yet 
that  was  the  problem  of  Christ's  mission  announced 
the  first  Christmas  night — "On  earth  peace." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  problem  will  be  worked 
out  in  the  end.  One  of  the  prophetic  visions  of  the 
Messiah's  reign  represents  the  peoples  of  the  world 
beating  their  swords  into  ploughshares  and  their 
spears  into  pruning-hooks.  Then  we  have  this  assur- 
ance, "  Nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation, 
neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more."  A  picture 
of  peace  shows  a  cannon  lying  in  a  meadow,  and  a 
lamb  nibbling  grass  at  its  mouth.  The  picture  is  not 
ideal,  for  the  implement  of  war  still  exists,  though 
unused.  The  prophet's  picture  is  better  —  the 
sword  no  longer  a  sword,  but  made  into  a  plough- 
share, an  emblem  of  husbandry,  and  the  soldiers' 
spears  hammered  into  pruning-hooks  which  are 
used  in  di'essing  the  vines.  There  are  intimations 
that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  war  shall 
cease  from  the  face  of  the  earth  and  when  differ- 
ences between  nations  shall  be  settled  by  the 
arbitrament  of  love,  and  no  longer  by  an  appeal  to 
battle. 

"Good-will  toward  men."      The  best  definition 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  13 

of  these  words  is  —  love.  Jesus  put  it,  "As  I  have 
loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another."  To 
have  good- will  toward  men  is  to  love  men — not 
merely  those  who  love  us,  but  those  who  do  not 
love  us.  An  English  bishop  said  the  best  definition 
of  the  commandment  of  love  to  men  he  had  ever 
seen  was  given  by  a  plain  woman,  —  "  To  love  like 
God  is  to  love  people  we  don't  like."  It  means 
also  to  love  those  who  do  not  like  us.  It  means  to 
forgive  —  not  three  times,  nor  seven  times,  but 
seventy  times  seven.  Good-will  to  men  means  not 
only  charity  toward  all,  but  sincere  interest  in  all 
men,  the  seeking  of  the  highest  good  of  every  man. 

Some  one  writes  :  "  Cultivate  kindness  of  heart ; 
think  well  of  your  fellow-men ;  look  with  charity 
upon  the  shortcomings  in  their  lives;  do  a  good 
turn  for  them  as  opportunity  offers ;  and,  finally, 
don't  forget  the  kind  word  at  the  right  time.  How 
much  such  a  word  of  kindness,  encouragement,  or 
appreciation  means  to  others  sometimes,  and  how 
little  it  costs  us  to  give  it ! " 

If  we  really  have  in  our  hearts  good-will  to  men, 
we  shall  not  only  wish  every  one  well,  but  we  shall 
seek  every  opportunity  to  do  good  to  every  one.  It 
will  make  us  good  neighbors,  kind,  obliging,  ready 
always  to  lend  a  hand,  to  do  another  a  good  turn 


14  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

When  there  is  sickness  or  trouble  in  the  home  of  a 
neighbor,  we  will  show  our  sympathy  by  rendering 
any  service  that  may  be  needed.  Of  a  kindly  man 
it  was  said  that  he  lived  by  the  side  of  the  road, 
that  he  might  be  among  people  and  have  a  chance 
to  help  them.  It  is  in  practical  ways  that  good-will 
to  men  shows  itself.  It  does  not  wait  to  do  large 
things,  but  heeds  the  calls  of  need  as  they  come, 
however  small  they  may  be.  Norman  MacLeod 
writes  the  lesson  into  a  little  creed :  — 

"  I  believe  in  liuman  kindness, 

Large  amid  the  sons  of  men, 
Nobler  far  in  willing  blindness 

Than  the  censure's  keenest  ken. 
I  believe  in  self-denial, 

And  its  secret  throb  of  joy  ; 
In  the  love  that  lives  through  trial, 

Dying  not,  though  death  destroy. 

"  I  believe  in  love  renewing 

All  that  sin  hath  swept  away, 
Leavenlike  its  work  pursuing 

Night  by  night  and  day  by  day  ; 
In  the  power  of  its  remodelling, 

In  the  grace  of  its  reprieve. 
In  the  glory  of  beholding 

Its  perfection  —  I  believe." 

The  problem  of  Christmas  the  night  Jesus  was 
born  was  to  set  all  this  good-will  to  work  in  the  world. 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  16 

A  great  deal  has  been  done  in  these  long  Christian 
centuries  in  the  carrying  out  of  this  programme. 
In  Christian  lands  there  is  much  that  is  very 
beautiful  in  the  way  the  poor,  the  old,  the  blind, 
the  orphan,  the  sick,  and  all  unfortunate  ones 
are  cared  for,  and  in  the  spirit  of  kindness  and 
charity  which  prevails  in  society.  All  this  has 
been  brought  about  by  the  diffusion  of  the  love  of 
God  among  men.  What  marvellous  changes  have 
been  wrought  may  be  seen  by  comparing  Christian 
countries  like  England  and  America  with  heathen 
lands  like  China  and  Africa.  But  the  work  is  not 
yet  finished.  The  whole  world  has  not  yet  been 
transformed  into  the  sweetness,  purity,  and  beavity 
of  heaven.  Where  most  has  been  done  there  still 
is  much  to  do. 

We  may  bring  the  subject  closer  home.  What  is 
our  personal  part  in  the  making  of  Christmas  ? 
After  all,  that  is  the  most  important  question  for 
us.  We  cannot  do  any  other  one's  part,  and  no 
other  can  do  ours.  Some  j)6ople  spend  so  much 
time  looking  after  their  neighbor's  garden  that  the 
weeds  grow  in  their  own  and  choke  out  the  plants 
and  flowers.  What  about  the  little  patch  of  God's 
great  world  that  is  given  us  to  tend  ?  If  the  prob- 
lem of  the  church  is  to  make  Christmas  in  every 


16  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

part  of  the  earth,  one  small  portion  belongs  to  every 
one  of  us. 

Each  one  should  seek  to  make  Christmas  first  in 
his  own  heart  and  life.  Christmas  is  Christlike- 
ness.  The  life  of  heaven  came  down  to  earth  in 
Jesus  and  began  in  the  lowly  place  where  he  was 
born.  Is  there  any  measure  of  that  same  sweet, 
gentle,  pure,  quiet,  lowly  life  in  us  ?  It  ought  to 
be  a  very  practical  matter.  Some  people  get  the 
sentiment  of  love;  but  the  love  fails  in  its  working 
out  in  their  disposition,  conduct,  and  character. 
The  kind  of  love  a  Christian  wants  is  something 
that  will  show  itself  in  deeds.  Some  one  tells  of 
seeing  a  little  lame  dog  trying  to  climb  up  the  curb- 
stone from  the  street  to  the  pavement.  But  the 
poor  creature  could  not  quite  reach  the  top  —  he 
would  always  fall  back.  A  hundred  people  passed 
by  and  watched  the  dog,  laughed  at  his  efforts  and 
failures,  and  went  on.  No  one  offered  to  help  hiin. 
Then  a  working  man  came  along,  a  rather  rough- 
looking  man.  He  saw  the  dog  and  pitied  him,  and 
getting  down  on  his  knees  beside  the  curb,  he 
lifted  the  little  creature  up  to  the  sidewalk,  and 
then  went  quietly  on.  That  man  possessed  the 
true  spirit  of  love.  That  is  what  Christ  would 
have  done.     Love  is  shown  quite  as  unmistakably 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  17 

in  the  way  a  man  treats  a  dog  as  in  the  spirit  he 
shows  toward  his  own  fellows. 

A  Christmas  letter  has  this  sentence,  referring  to 
some  things  that  had  not  gone  quite  right :  "  There 
have  been  mistakes,  but  this  is  a  good  time  of  year 
to  forget  them."  That  is  part  of  the  teaching  of 
Christmas  —  to  forget  the  mistakes  others  have 
made,  as  well  as  our  own,  to  wipe  off  the  slate  the 
records  of  any  wrongs  others  may  have  done  us, 
any  injuries  they  may  have  inflicted  on  us.  Some 
one  tells  of  a  certain  tree  in  a  tropical  country 
which  when  struck  and  bruised  bleeds  fragrant 
balsam.  So  it  should  be  with  us  when  others  hurt 
us,  smite  us  with  unkindness  —  if  we  bleed,  we 
should  bleed  love,  not  anger,  not  bitterness. 

Christmas  is  a  good  day  to  forgive  any  who  in 
any  way  have  done  us  harm.  St.  Paul's  counsel  is 
not  to  let  the  sun  go  down  upon  our  wrath.  Surely 
we  should  not  let  the  sun  of  the  Christmas  Eve 
go  down  on  any  feeling  of  anger  or  bitterness, 
any  grudge  or  hatred,  in  our  hearts.  Everything 
,  that  is  unloving  should  be  swept  away  as  we 
pray,  "Forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our 
debtors." 

"  Now  bury  with  the  dead  years  conflicts  dead, 
And  with  fresh  days  let  all  begin  anew." 


18  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

We  should  not  forget  the  word  "  peace,"  in  our 
lesson.  "On  earth  peace."  We  should  seek  for 
the  things  which  make  for  peace.  It  is  easy  to 
misunderstand  others,  even  our  dearest  friends. 
One  may  hold  a  penny  before  his  eye  so  that  it  will 
shut  out  all  the  beautiful  sky,  all  the  blue  and  all 
the  stars.  It  is  easy,  too,  to  make  little  offences 
grow  large  as  we  brood  over  them,  until,  held  up 
before  our  face,  they  hide  whole  fields  of  beauty 
and  good  in  the  lives  of  our  friends.  An  unpleasant 
word  is  spoken  thoughtlessly  by  some  one  and  we 
fret  and  vex  ourselves  over  it,  lying  awake  all  night 
thinking  of  it,  and  by  to-morrow  it  has  grown  into 
what  seems  an  unpardonable  wrong  that  our  friend 
has  committed  against  us.  But  Christ's  way  is 
different  —  he  turns  the  other  cheek.  He  forgives, 
he  forgets,  he  blots  out  the  record  and  goes  on  lov- 
ing just  as  before,  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

The  Christmas  spirit  teaches  us  to  deal  in  the 
same  way  with  those  who  injure  us.  Life  is  too 
short  to  mind  such  hurts,  which  ofttimes  are  as 
much  woundings  of  our  own  pride  or  self-esteem 
as  real  injuries  to  us.  In  any  case,  heavenly  love 
ignores  them.  One  says,  "  The  hurts  of  friendship, 
of  social  life,  of  household  familiarity,  must  be 
ignored,  got  over,  forgotten,  as  are  the  hurts,  the 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  19 

wounds,  the   bruises,    the    scratches   of    briers   or 
thorns  on  our  bodies." 

"  Life  is  too  short  for  aught  but  high  endeavor, 
Too  short  for  spite,  but  long  enough  for  love. 
And  love  lives  on  forever  and  forever; 

It  links  the  worlds  that  circle  on  above  ; 
'Tis  God's  first  law,  the  universe's  lever, 
In  his  vast  realm  the  radiant  soul  sighs  never, 
'  Life  is  too  short.'  " 

If  we  would  make  it  really  Christmas  in  our 
own  hearts,  we  must  learn  to  forget  ourselves  and 
to  think  of  others.  We  must  stop  keeping  account 
of  what  we  have  done  for  other  people,  and  begin 
to  put  down  in  place  what  other  people  have  done 
for  us.  We  must  cease  thinking  what  others  owe 
to  us,  and  remember  what  we  owe  to  them,  and  that 
we  owe  Christ  and  the  world  the  best  we  have  to 
give  of  life  and  love.  We  must  give  up  chafing 
about  our  rights  and  begin  to  rejoice  in  giving  up 
our  rights  and  doing  our  duties.  Some  one  says 
that  the  best  thing  about  rights  is  that  they  are 
our  own  and  we  can  give  them  up.  We  must  no 
longer  sit  on  little  thrones  and  expect  people  to 
show  us  honor,  attention,  and  deference,  and  to  bow 
down  to  us  and  serve  us,  but,  instead,  mus^  get 
down  into  the  lowly  places  of  love  and  begin  to 
serve  others,  even  the  lowliest,  in  the  lowliest 
ways.     That  is  the  way  our  Master  did. 


20  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

A  book  by  a  brilliant  writer,  about  keeping 
Christinas,  contains  this  paragraph,  which  is  worth 
quoting:  "  Are  you  willing  to  stoop  down  and  con- 
sider the  needs  and  the  desires  of  little  children; 
to  remember  the  weakness  and  loneliness  of  people 
who  are  growing  old;  to  stop  asking  how  much 
your  friends  love  you,  and  ask  yourself  whether 
you  love  them  enough ;  to  bear  in  mind  the  things 
that  other  people  have  to  bear  on  their  hearts ;  to 
try  to  understand  what  those  who  live  in  the  same 
house  with  you  really  want,  without  waiting  for 
them  to  tell  you ;  to  trim  your  lamp  so  that  it  will 
give  more  light  and  less  smoke,  and  to  carry  it  in 
front,  so  that  your  shadow  will  fall  behind  you ;  to 
make  a  grave  for  your  ugly  thoughts,  and  a  garden 
for  your  kindly  feelings,  with  the  gate  open  —  are 
you  willing  to  do  these  things  even  for  a  day? 
Then  you  can  keep  Christmas." 

We  must  make  Christmas  first  in  our  own  heart 
before  we  can  make  it  for  any  other.  A  grumpy 
person,  a  selfish  person,  a  tyrannous  and  despotic 
person,  an  uncharitable,  unforgiving  person,  cannot 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  Christmas  himself  and  can- 
not add  to  the  blessing  of  Christmas  for  his  friends 
or  neighbors.  The  day  must  begin  within,  in  one's 
own  heart.     But  it  will  not  end  there.     We  must 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  21 

be  a  maker  of  Christmas  for  others  or  we  cannot 
make  a  real  Christmas  for  ourselves.  We  need  the 
sharing  of  our  joy  in  order  to  its  real  possession. 
If  we  try  to  keep  our  Christmas  all  to  ourselves,  we 
will  miss  half  its  sweetness. 

"The  Holy  Supper  is  kept  indeed, 
In  whatso  we  share  with  anotlier's  need ; 
Not  what  we  give,  but  what  we  share, 
For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare." 

There  would  seem  not  to  be  any  need  at  the 
Christmastide  to  say  a  word  to  urge  people  to  be 
kind  to  others  and  to  do  things  for  them.  Every- 
body we  meet  at  this  season  carries  an  armful  of 
mysterious  bundles.  For  weeks  before  the  happy 
day  the  stores  are  thronged  with  people  buying  all 
sorts  of  gifts.  To  the  homes  of  the  poor,  baskets 
by  hundreds  are  sent,  with  their  provision  for 
Christmas  dinners  and  their  toys  for  the  children. 
The  spirit  of  giving  is  in  the  very  air.  Even  the 
churl  and  the  miser  are  generous  and  liberal  for 
the  time.  Everybody  catches  the  spirit  of  giving 
for  once  in  the  year. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  way  to  do  good,  to  help 
others.  In  a  story  a  good  man  says,  "  It's  very 
hard  to  know  how  to  help  people  when  you  can't 
send  them  blankets,  or  coal,  or  Christmas  dinners." 


22  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

With  many  people  this  is  very  true.  They  know 
of  no  way  of  helping  others  save  by  giving  them 
material  things.  Yet  there  are  better  ways  of 
doing  good  than  by  sending  a  dinner,  or  clothing, 
or  a  picture  for  the  wall,  or  silverware  for  the 
table.  One  may  have  no  money  to  spend  and  yet 
may  be  a  liberal  benefactor.  We  may  help  others 
by  sympathy,  by  cheer,  by  encouragement. 

A  good  woman  when  asked  at  Thanksgiving  time 
for  what  she  was  most  grateful,  said  that  that 
which,  above  all  other  things,  she  was  thankful 
for  at  the  end  of  the  year  was  courage.  She  had 
been  left  with  a  family  of  children  to  care  for  and 
the  burden  had  been  very  heavy.  Again  and  again 
she  had  been  on  the  point  of  giving  up  in  the  de- 
spair of  defeat.  But  through  the  cheer  and  encour- 
agement received  from  a  friend  she  had  been  kept 
brave  and  strong  through  all  the  trying  experience. 
Her  courage  had  saved  her.  It  is  a  great  thing  to 
be  such  an  encourager  —  there  is  no  other  way  in 
which  we  can  lielp  most  people  better  than  by 
giving  them  courage.  Without  such  inspiration 
many  persons  sink  down  in  their  struggles  and 
fail.  To  many  persons  —  to  far  more  than  we 
think,  life  is  very  hard,  and  it  is  easy  for  them  to 
faint   in  the  way.     What  they  need,  however,  is 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  23 

not  to  have  the  load  lifted  off,  or  to  be  taken  out 
of  the  hard  fight,  but  to  be  strengthened  to  go  on 
victoriously.  The  help  they  need  is  not  in  temporal 
things,  but  in  sympathy  and  heartening. 

So  far  as  we  are  told,  Jesus  never  sent  people 
blankets  to  keep  them  warm,  or  fuel  for  their  fires, 
or  Christmas  dinners,  or  toys  for  the  children.  Yet 
there  never  was  such  a  helper  of  others  as  he  was. 
He  had  the  marvellous  power  of  putting  himself 
under  people's  loads  by  putting  himself  into  people's 
lives.  There  is  a  tremendous  power  of  helpfulness  in 
true  sympathy,  and  Jesus  sympathized  with  all  sor- 
row and  all  hardness  of  condition.  He  loved  people 
—  that  was  the  great  secret  of  his  helpfulness.  He 
felt  men's  sufferings.  In  all  their  afflictions  he  was 
afflicted.  One  said,  "  If  I  were  God,  my  heart  would 
break  with  the  sorrows  of  the  world."  He  was  blam- 
ing God  for  pernjitting  such  sufferings,  such  calami- 
ties, such  troubles,  as  daily  history  records.  He  said 
God  was  cruel  to  look  on  in  silence  and  not  put  a 
stop  to  these  terrible  things.  "  If  I  were  God,  my 
heart  would  break  over  such  anguish  and  pain  as 
are  in  the  world."  He  did  not  understand  that  that 
was  just  what  the  heart  of  Christ  did  —  it  broke 
with  compassion,  with  love,  with  sorrow,  over  the 
world's  woes.     Thus  he  was  enabled  to  become  the 


24:  CHRIST  MA  S-MA  KING. 

world's  Redeemer.  He  was  a  marvellous  helper  of 
others  —  not  by  giving  material  things,  but  by  im- 
parting spiritual  help.  It  is  right  to  give  gifts  at 
Christmas  —  they  do  good,  if  they  are  carefully  and 
wisely  chosen  and  are  given  with  the  desire  to  do 
good.  But  let  us  seek  to  be  helpers  also  in  higher 
ways. 

We  can  help  greatly  by  being  happiness  makers! 
Some  one  says,  "  Blessed  are  the  happiness  makers. 
Blessed  are  they  that  remove  friction,  that  make 
the  courses  of  life  smooth,  and  the  intercourse  of 
men  gentle."  There  is  far  more  need  of  this  sort 
of  help  than  most  of  us  imagine.  We  think  most 
people  are  quite  happy.  We  have  no  conception  of 
the  number  of  people  about  us  who  are  lonely,  and 
find  their  loneliness  almost  unbearable  at  such  times 
as  the  Christmastide. 

Perhaps  nearly  every  one  of  us  knows  at  least 
one  person  who  will  have  no  home  on  next  Christ- 
mas Day  but  a  dreary  room  in  a  boarding  house  — 
a  pleasant  enough  room  in  itself,  it  may  be,  but 
made  dreary  by  the  absence  of  home's  loved  ones. 
You  do  not  know  what  a  blessing  you  may  be  to  this 
homeless  one  if  you  will  in  some  way  put  a  taste  of 
home  into  his  experience  even  for  one  hour  on 
Christmas.      Jesus    has  told  us  how  near  these 


CHRtSTMAS-MAKtNG.  25 

lonely  ones  are  to  him.  He  knew  what  it  was  to 
have  no  place  to  go  at  the  close  of  the  day  when  the 
people  scattered  off,  every  one  to  his  own  house, 
leaving  him  alone,  with  no  invitation  to  any  one's 
hospitality  and  no  place  but  the  mountains  to  go  for 
the  night.  Then  he  tells  ns  that  if  we  open  our  door 
to  a  stranger  and  take  him  in,  it  is  the  same  as  if  we 
had  opened  the  door  and  taken  in  Jesus  himself. 
He  is  pleased,  therefore,  when,  in  any  loving  way, 
we  make  Christmas  a  little  less  lonely  for  some 
homesick  one. 

A  word  may  be  said,  too,  to  those  who  will  be 
alone  on  Christmas,  who  are  away  from  their  homes, 
or  have  no  longer  any  home.  There  is  a  way  in 
which  they  can  do  much  to  make  the  day  brighter 
for  themselves.  Though  no  taste  or  touch  of  human 
fellowship  and  friendship  be  theirs  that  day,  they 
need  not  grow  disheartened.  George  Macdonald 
says,  "To  be  able  to  have  the  things  we  want  — 
that  is  riches ;  but  to  be  able  to  do  without  them  — 
that  is  power."  This  is  then  the  lesson  of  loneli- 
ness —  to  gain  the  victory  over  it.  One  of  the 
problems  of  life  is  to  live  independently  of  circum- 
stances and  conditions.  St.  Paul  said  he  had 
learned  in  whatsoever  state  he  was,  therein  to  be 
content.     The  secret  was  in  himself.     He  carried 


26  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

in  his  own  mind  and  heart  the  resonrces  he  needed. 
No  matter  liow  bare  his  life  was  of  comforts,  or 
how  full  of  trials  and  sufferings,  the  peace  and  joy 
within  w^ere  not  disturbed.  It  may  not  be  easy  for 
the  lonely  ones,  lacking  the  companionship  and 
fellowship  of  home  and  its  happiness,  to  go  through 
a  Christmastide  as  if  nothing  were  wanting.  Yet 
there  is  a  way  to  overcome  in  great  measure  the 
want  of  fellowship.  Much  can  be  done  by  think- 
ing of  others  who  are  lonely,  and  doing  what  we 
can  to  carry  cheer  to  them.  In  doing  this  we  will 
forget  our  own  lonely  condition.  Then  we  can 
turn  our  heart-hunger  toward  Christ,  who  is  willing 
always  to  give  us  his  joy.  Here  is  a  little  prayer 
for  lonely  people  which  some  may  find  fitting  for 
the  Christmastide. 


A  CHRISTMAS   PRAYER   FOR  THE 
LONELY.i 

My  Father,  I  miss  the  gladness  which  many  of 
thine  other  children  are  enjoying  to-day.  They 
have  their  homes  and  friends  and  happy  fellow- 
ships, while  I  am  alone.  Yet  may  I  have  a  joyous 
Christmas  even  without  these  bright  things.  Let 
1  By  permission  of  TheYouth's  Companion. 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  27 

me  not  envy  those  who  have  the  blessings  which  I 
do  not  have.  Save  me  from  all  bitter  feeling,  all 
complaining,  all  homesickness,  and  all  unhappiness 
because  of  my  circumstances.  Help  me  to  remem- 
ber the  loneliness  of  Jesus,  who  was  born  in  poverty 
and  found  no  welcome  in  this  world,  and  to  be  con- 
tented in  my  condition  as  he  was  in  his. 

I  pray  for  others  who  are  lonely  like  myself, 
away  from  their  homes  ;  for  the  very  poor  to  whom 
the  day  will  bring  but  little  gladness ;  for  the 
children  whose  dream  of  Christmas  has  been  dis- 
appointed; for  the  sick,  the  sorrowing,  and  the 
weary.  In  the  great  wave  of  good  feeling  which 
spreads  everywhere  to-day,  may  some  touch  of 
human  kindness  reach  every  one  of  these  heart- 
hungry  ones. 

Grant  me  the  privilege  of  carrying  a  little  Christ- 
mas gladness  to  some  who  but  for  me  would  go 
unblessed.  Lead  me  to  one,  at  least,  to  whom  a 
kindly  word  will  be  a  benediction.  Let  me  give 
cheer  to  one  who  is  discouraged.  Give  me  the 
privilege  of  making  real  to  some  one  the  sweetness 
and  warmth  of  the  love  of  Christ. 

So  I  pray,  my  Father,  that  this  wondrous  day 
may  not  pass  without  leaving  something  of  its  glad, 
loving  spirit  in  my  heart,   and   something   of   its 


28  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

quickening  in  my  life.  May  I  get  a  new  vision  of 
the  divine  love.  May  I  be  cleansed  of  the  sin 
which  has  left  its  sad  blots  on  all  my  old  year's 
pages.  May  I  from  to-day  live  more  beautifully, 
less  selfishly,  less  wilfully,  more  hel])fully  than 
ever  before.  May  I  find  comfort  hereafter  for  my 
loneliness  in  closer  companionship  with  Christ  and 
in  a  life  of  love  and  service.  Grant  these  blessings, 
I  beseech  thee,  in  his  name.     Amen. 

"Good-will  toward  men."  Good-will  means 
kindness,  sympathy,  love.  It  means  that  we  shall 
have  no  bitter  feeling  toward  any  one,  no  unkind 
thought,  no  dislike.  This  man  who  jostled  against 
me  to-day  is  my  brother.  Perhaps  it  was  as  much 
my  fault  as  his.  I  may  have  put  myself  obstinately 
in  his  way.  Most  likely  at  least  he  did  it  uninten- 
tionally. Let  me  then  forgive  him,  or  even  ask 
his  pardon  for  being  in  the  way  when  he  stumbled. 

We  may  read  the  Gospels  to  see  how  Jesus 
showed  good-will  to  men,  for  he  gave  us  the  pattern 
for  every  beautiful  thing  he  would  have  us  do.  A 
frown  never  came  upon  his  face  when  some  one  had 
been  rude  or  unkind  to  him.  Nothing  ever  caused 
him  to  show  annoyance,  however  many  things  there 
were  to  disturb  and   vex   him.     The   people  were 


CHRISTMAS-MAKING.  29 

selfish  and  ill-mannered  in  pressing  about  him. 
They  gave  him  no  time  to  rest  or  to  eat.  They 
even  broke  in  upon  him  when  he  was  at  his  private 
devotions.  But  his  patience  and  kindness  never 
failed.  Nothing  ever  ruffled  or  interrupted  his 
composure  or  irritated  him  in  the  slightest  way. 
They  told  him  that  the  woman  at  his  feet  was  not 
good,  that  her  character  was  stained,  and  that  he 
should  not  let  her  touch  him.  But  he  continued  his 
gracious  kindness  to  her  as  if  she  had  been  the 
best  woman  in  the  land.  They  hated  and  perse- 
cuted him,  hurt  him  and  iusulted  him,  spitting  in 
his  face,  at  last  nailing  him  on  the  cross ;  but  he 
went  on  loving,  never  complaining,  never  resisting, 
showing  no  resentment. 

That  is  what  good-will  to  men  means.  Can  we 
learn  the  lesson?  That  is  part  of  what  our  Christ- 
mas-making means.  On  Christmas  Day  we  feel 
"kindly  affectioned"  toward  all  the  world.  We 
would  not  do  harm  to  any  one.  We  let  nothing 
annoy  or  vex  us.  We  try  to  keep  our  spirit  sweet 
even  amid  the  most  irritating  experiences.  We  for- 
give those  who  have  wronged  us.  We  give  up  grudges 
and  resentments.  We  are  glad  of  any  opportunity  to 
be  kind  to  those  who  have  been  unkind  to  us.  The 
problem  is  to  keep  up  this  good-will  to-morrow,  to 


30  CHRISTMAS-MAKING. 

take  it  out  with  us  into  the  life  of  the  days  after 
Christmas,  and  to  keep  on  making  Christmas 
wherever  we  go  all  the  days  of  the  new  year.  If 
we  do  all  this  it  will  not  take  long  to  bring  in  the 
reign  of  love. 

A  prayer  has  been  suggested  appropriate  for 
those  who  are  lonely  at  the  Christmastide.  It  seems 
fitting  to  suggest  also  a  prayer  for  those  who  are 
happy  in  their  own  homes  or  in  circles  of  friends. 


A  PRAYER   FOR  CHRISTMAS  MORNING. 

On  this  Christmas  Day,  my  Father,  I  come  to 
thee  with  a  glad  heart.  Help  me  to  observe  the 
day  fitly,  with  loving  remembrance  of  the  lowly 
birth  in  Bethlehem  and  the  sorrows  of  him  who 
came  to  bring  redemption,  and  with  grateful  thanks 
to  thee  for  thy  great  mercy. 

May  this  be  a  true  Christmas  in  my  heart.  Take 
away  all  unbelief,  all  bitter  thought  and  feeling,  all 
resentment  and  unforgiveness,  all  unholy  desire, 
and  give  me  love,  love  that  suffereth  long  and  is 
kind,  that  is  not  provoked,  that  thinketh  no  evil, 
that  seeketh  not  its  own.  Save  me  from  all  selfish- 
ness.     While  I  gratefully  receive  the  Christmas 


CHRIS  TMA  S-MA  KING .  31 

blessings  and  enjoy  them,  may  my  heart  be  opened 
toward  all  the  world  in  sympathy  and  kindly  inter- 
est. Make  my  life  a  song,  and  may  I  go  everywhere 
with  joy  on  my  face  and  on  my  lips. 

I  pray  for  all  those  to  whom  Christmas  brings 
gladness,  that  their  joy  may  be  enriched  by  thoughts 
of  the  divine  love.  I  pray  for  the  multitudes  of 
little  children  everywhere,  to  whom  the  day  means 
so  much,  who  have  been  waiting  for  it  so  long  in 
eager  expectancy,  and  Avho  will  be  happy  with  their 
gifts  and  with  the  love  that  blesses  them. 

I  pray  also  for  those  to  whom  the  day  brings 
little  of  joy  —  the  very  poor,  the  lonely  and  soli- 
tai'y;  those  far  away  from  their  homes,  whose 
hearts  will  not  be  warmed  by  human  love ;  prison- 
ers in  their  prisons ;  sailors  on  the  sea,  and  those 
who  know  not  thee.  I  pray  for  the  sick  in  their 
homes  and  in  the  hospitals,  that  in  their  suffering 
they  may  be  comforted  by  the  remembrance  of  the 
divine  compassion.  I  pray  for  the  bereft  and  sor- 
rowing, to  whom  Christmas  brings  painful  memo- 
ries, making  more  real  their  sense  of  loss.  May 
they  find  comfort  in  the  thought  of  Christ's  unfail- 
ing love. 

May  this  glad  Christmas  leave  my  life  richer 
and  tenderer.     May  the  love  of  God  henceforth  be 


32 


CHRISTMA  S-MAKIKG. 


more  real  to  me.  May  I  be  surer  of  the  divine 
care  and  guidance.  May  my  heart  be  warmer 
toward  my  fellows,  tenderer  in  its  sympathy  with 
human  need  and  sorrow,  and  may  I  live  a  gentler, 
more  kindly  life,  because  of  this  day's  revealing  of 
God's  love.  Grant  these  favors  through  Jesus 
Christ.    Amen. 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


JAN  5     1931 


&    DEC  1  aim 


Form  L-9-35m-8,'28 


A 


